A Solid Foundation told by Dr Meabh Brady

This year at mydentist we have recruited more Foundation Dentists than ever before. We spoke to Dr Meabh Brady from mydentist, Grainger Park Road in Newcastle upon Tyne, who tells us all about how mydentist has supported her transition from DF1 to Associate and how surprised she is at how much she has achieved during her time with us.

When did you first hear about mydentist?

“I moved from Belfast to England to complete my Foundation year and on my scheme I met other dentists who were completing their DF1 year in mydentist practices. In the March, I had an interview and was successful. I was thrilled and relieved about this as it was still quite early into my Foundation Year training!

How has mydentist helped you to grow and develop as a Dentist?

When I started in practice straight out of my FD year it was nerve-wracking as I wasn’t too confident, but it didn’t take me long to build up a busy patient list in a high need area with both NHS and private treatments available. I soon got lots of practice under my belt and built up my clinical confidence from doing the most basic of treatments such as fillings to the more complex full mouth rehabilitation cases.

One of the most important things for me after my FD year was developing my career and finding out what I actually wanted to do in Dentistry, mydentist has turned out to be one of the best places for me to discover that. The Academy is absolutely brilliant, there is lots of CPD available from the very basic things like radiography and CPR, treatment planning and patient management to very specialised areas such as composites, denture training and anything else private you wish to do”

What courses have you been on at the Academy?

“I recently did the Dental Excellence course which was great, the person running the course stayed in touch with me throughout, keeping me in touch with the lab I was using and checking for any materials I needed. A lot of my colleagues have recently completed the Orthodontics course so I think that will be the next one on my list.”

How do both Clinical and Operational colleagues work as one team helping you to deliver the best patient experience?

“Having a Clinical Support Manager has been fantastic, they regularly visit your practice to go through your notes and check to see if you need any support that will help in giving the best care for your patients. During the last visit I was able to discuss some complex cases I had come across in which I wasn’t entirely sure on the treatment plan, it’s just nice to know that even if they aren’t there in person, they are always there on the other end of the phone, and nothing is ever too much trouble!

The reception staff and nurses are always so welcoming which puts the patients at ease as we know coming to the Dentist is not pleasant at the best of times! I have been lucky enough to have been given a brand new surgery to work in which is beautiful, it really makes a difference and it is a joy to come to work. The practice is light and spacious, it definitely makes my job easier when I know the patients have been sitting in a comfortable waiting area”

Going from DF1 where you are regularly with peers to an Associate role could potentially feel quite isolating. How does mydentist help to connect you to peer communities?

“My Clinical Support Manager arranges regular peer review evenings which consists of a group of local clinicians, we tend to focus on one topic to discuss and it’s really helpful to get an insight into how other clinicians handle situations as we all exchange our knowledge and experiences.”

What has been the most surprisingly brilliant aspect of working for mydentist?

“Before I started there was a lot of negativity surrounding mydentist, that it’s all about the money and there is no quality patient care however all I can say is that my experience has been the exact opposite! CEO, Tom Riall, recently visited to talk to the dentists about what he can do to make the company a better place to work, I really feel that all the Dentists and the practice staff have since felt more appreciated and more supported in the workplace, it was really lovely to meet him and you can see he really tries to ensure that everyone works together.

A real unexpected highlight for me is the level of support I receive from my Practice Manager, Area Development Manager and Clinical Support Manager. There has never been a day I’ve gone home worried or stressed.”

How do you see your career developing further with mydentist?

In the future I think would like to focus on endodontics or restorative dentistry, possibly do a masters in those. I know I would love to stay with mydentist, if I have to move away from Newcastle I would definitely look to transfer to another location, there are over 600 practices across the UK so I will have lots of different options to choose from.